Articles 119b and 120 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records show 12 courts-martial from 2015–2025 that charged both Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 120 (sexual assault).
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Trends › By Offense › Article 119b › With Article 120
Short answer: Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records show 12 courts-martial from 2015–2025 that charged both Article 119b (child endangerment, numbered since 2019) and Article 120 (sexual assault). The median confinement was 6.5 years, compared with 10 months in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b. 73% of the cases were contested, compared with 44% for Article 119b cases overall.
NCOs Were Most of the Accused
NCOs made up 75% of the accused and junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) 25%. No officers appear. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b, junior enlisted members made up 44%.
Sentences to Confinement
All 12 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 10 of those sentences included confinement (83%). The median was 6.5 years, longer than the 10 months median in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 16 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case, including the Article 120 charge.
Punitive Discharges
Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 10 left with a punitive discharge: 4 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. The share in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b was 62%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Contested Cases
The plea is listed in 11 of the 12 records. Of those, 8 accused contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea, and 3 pleaded guilty. The contested share of 73% is higher than the 44% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b.
Other Charges
None of the 12 cases charged Article 119b by itself, compared with 25 of 114 in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 119b. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 7 cases, Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) in 6, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 5, and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 3.
Years and Law Changes
The trials ran from November 2015 to May 2025. By year: 2015: 1, 2016: 0, 2017: 1, 2018: 2, 2019: 0, 2020: 0, 2021: 3, 2022: 0, 2023: 2, 2024: 2, and 2025: 1.
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, with fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements; cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. The records give trial dates, not offense dates.
What the Records Leave Out
The records cover courts-martial only. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation, and they do not describe the evidence or plea terms.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 119b and Article 120 (12 cases). Air Force cases are left out because Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 119b (Child Endangerment, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Article 120 (Rape and Sexual Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Articles 119b and 128b in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Articles 119b and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Articles 119b and 134 in the Same Case: What the Records Show
- Army Article 119b Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? Child Endangerment Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.